Mayor Lucas Cleveland describes Cobourg as, “an incredibly beautiful and generous community,” a statement borne of firsthand experience since moving to the town only eight years ago.“What we noticed then, and what we’re seeing now, is that we are in this incredibly wonderful transformation as a community. Some would say it’s growing up, but I would prefer to say that it’s becoming more of what it always was.” A UNIFIED STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK The town’s 2023–2028 Economic Development and Venture13 Strategy and Action Plan developed by the Economic Development department defines key pillars such as downtown revitalization, business attraction, investment readiness and setting measurable goals to ensure lasting impact in every initiative. Mayor Cleveland underscores the courageous efforts of Cobourg’s leadership, who have embedded sector-specific strategies within the town’s broader term-of-Council Strategic Plan. “When you read a lot of political strategic plans, they have all these aspirational goals,” he remarks.“What we’ve done is hammer it down to three key priorities. This strategic plan wasn’t some lofty ambitions of what we hope to accomplish. Instead, it is a lens with which to view all decisions.” With this in mind, every proposal, from a new festival to a planning application or a capital project, is evaluated against these priorities. “The strategy is about having a well rounded team that knows the plan,” he says.“We have this incredible staff who are out there doing the work day in, day out. And they have a unified Council out there with the branding, the advertising, and the marketing chops to get the attention in the public and political sphere. That is now allowing the excellence of our staff to be showcased, we can see that through our grants that are coming in, and through the awards we have received.” In recognition of these efforts, the Economic Development Department was recently honored with an Award of Excellence from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario for workforce development and talent attraction. 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 06 COBOURG, ON
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